Valerii Sumilov-5 Elemente Wine Label

At Design Interviews

(Excerpt) Interview with Valerii Sumilov : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Valerii Sumilov : The main inspiration for my design was the wine itself named “5 Elemente”. Dry red wine produced under this trademark is unique in many ways, including taste, flavor and décor. This product is rather unique for the market because it is made out of five different wine varieties: Shiraz, Merlot, Carmenere, Rara Neagra and Malbec. Usually a blend is comprised of two-three grape varieties, the final balance of which in the product is the result of numerous experiments and refinements. This makes the product in question even more unique, as it is a result of a production experiment that was undertaken by the company Equinox in rather harsh conditions. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Valerii Sumilov : When creating this design I wanted to communicate the concept of exclusiveness, refinement and status, which corresponds to the positioning of this product. The wine was produced in a limited series of 1150 bottles in the high price segment, and it could only be purchased in upscale and expensive restaurants. That was my main focus when working on this design. .Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Valerii Sumilov : It took me about two weeks to create the main concept, including the accumulation of information and creation of three different directions. Afterwards, the concept was refined from the technical point of view. The project itself took about 5 month to complete, starting with the initial inquiry to its final production in the printing house. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Valerii Sumilov : Initially, I have developed three design concepts for this wine. Each of the concepts was heavily based on different symbols that communicated different traits of the product. However, all three were based on laconic, even minimalist aesthetic. For the final version, the client has chosen the concept based on the Roman number “V”.
The Roman number V serves as the main stylistic element and delivers a rather refrained tone to the whole design of the label. The color scheme comprised of black, grey and white emphasizes the strictness and moderation of the selected style.
A unique solution was to create a label that covers the entire circumference of the bottle in contrast to the traditional approach of using only one or two segments. As a result, the label is drawing attention regardless of the side you’re looking at.
.Frank Scott: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?. Valerii Sumilov : This design was successfully produced and printed by one of the best European printing houses. The product was produced and successfully sold by Equinox Company. .Frank Scott: What made you design this particular type of work?. Valerii Sumilov : For more than 10 years I’m primarily engaged in designing wine labels. That’s why I have plenty of experience, knowledge and skills mainly in this domain of design. .Frank Scott: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your wor.[ End of Excerpt: Read complete interview with Valerii Sumilov on 5 Elemente Wine Label at design-interviews.com ]